Misdemeanor plea entered in pot case

November 15, 2004

A suspect has pleaded guilty for her role in the cultivation of 4,000 marijuana plants found in a West Oakland warehouse that supporters say was a legitimate grower of medical cannabis, court records show.

Celeste Angello, 28, of Santa Clara entered a guilty plea in U.S. District Court in Oakland on Sept. 1 to a misdemeanor possession of marijuana, records show.

A second suspect, Heleno Dearaujo, 32, of Concord was scheduled to enter a guilty plea Monday in a similar misdemeanor case, but the proceeding was closed to the public, and attorneys in the case declined to comment.

Three other suspects -- Jacek Mroz, 27, of Oakland, Jesse Nieblas, 32, of Alameda, and Mario Pacetti, 33, of Alameda -- were indicted in July by a federal grand jury in Oakland.

They have pleaded not guilty to felony charges of manufacturing marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, aiding and abetting, and using a place for manufacturing marijuana.

California Highway Patrol officers discovered the plants June 30 in a warehouse at 2638 Market St. Medicinal marijuana advocates criticized the CHP for calling in federal agents -- instead of Oakland police -- and said the plants were being grown for a medical cannabis dispensary with a permit from the city of Oakland.